Staying Active While Traveling
When Movement Travel is on the road either researching new locations or hosting a wellness retreat, we like to maintain a regular fitness routine. Sometimes we don’t have access to a gym, yoga studio or fitness classes so we created our own workouts for the road which requires very little equipment that can be easily packed, even into carry-on luggage.
Our equipment list includes:
- Travel yoga mat – The mat I travel with is the B MAT Traveller 2mm. It folds easily, stays flat, has a great, grippy surface and fits into a small suitcase.
- Resistance loop bands – They are inexpensive, light, compact and usually come in packs offering 4-5 different resistance levels. They are perfect for adding more resistance to body-weight exercises. Loops bands like the Letsfit Resistance Loop Bands can be easily purchased online at Amazon.
- Long resistance bands – These bands are longer, not looped and a great alternative for exercises requiring dumbbells or a cable machine. Some come with a door anchor and we found that a narrow tree trunk or thick branch will also work for rows and lat pull downs. Inexpensive, light and compact bands such as the Super Exercise Band are perfect for taking on the road with you.
- Wireless speaker – We love working out to music. It’s also perfect for increasing the volume of an online workout class or using your own favourite playlists for an video-based workout. I have been traveling with an iHome wireless, Bluetooth speaker that is inexpensive, light, compact and produces decent sound for it’s size.
With the above equipment, you can have a challenging and well-rounded workout routine anywhere, like your hotel room, a garden, park or even at the beach. We personally like to alternate yoga and resistance training days and will also include regular cardio training by either going for a run, hike or long walk. We mostly design our own workouts but if you are not comfortable doing it on your own, there are plenty of websites offering video-based online workouts for a relatively low monthly fee. I currently subscribe to Alo Moves which offers yoga-inspired classes that range from relaxing meditations to intense full-body strength training.
Staying active, keeping up with your regular exercise routine and keeping well while traveling has never been easier. As more and more travelers are consciously focusing on their wellness while traveling, many of the new hotels, and several more established hotels, are now focusing on ways to enhance offerings to guests focused on wellness travel. If you are interested in learning more about our partnership with a special group of Select Wellness Hotels, please contact us at [email protected].
Melanie Yip
Co-Founder, Movement Travel & YTT 200 Certified Yoga Instructor